Five former Little Cyclone stars to be inducted into Ames hall of fame

By Hayes Gardner Staff Writer hgardner@amestrib.com

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2018 at 5:31 PMOct 2, 2018 at 7:51 PM

Ames High School will induct five former standout Little Cyclone athletes into the school's athletic hall of fame this week.

Ben Cotton, Amy (Hamilton) Fouch, Kerstan Thorgaard, Phil Bishop and Dave Sucher will be enshrined during a banquet at the Ames High School cafeteria.

The five, whose accomplishments cover three separate decades, will be honored at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The public is invited to attend; tickets are $10 per person.

Cotton, a 2008 grad, earned letters in four sports during his illustrious career, but stood out most on the gridiron. He is the Little Cyclones' all-time leader in receptions and yards from a tight end and earned first-team all-state honors during his senior season.

“There's a lot of good memories that were on the field, a lot of games that we won, a lot of personal moments, a lot of team moments, in all the sports that I got to play,” Cotton told the Ames Tribune. “A lot of (those moments) came, too, in the relationships I got to build with my friends and classmates and teammates.”

After graduation, Cotton played tight end at Nebraska, where he twice earned all-conference honorable mention selections. After his college career, he briefly joined the San Diego Chargers preseason roster.

After his playing career, he got out of football and accepted a job working in orthopedic sales, but stayed in that field for only seven months.

Presented with a chance to coach alongside his father, Barney Cotton, a former offensive coordinator at Iowa State and Nebraska, as a graduate assistant with UNLV football, Cotton saw a no-brainer opportunity. He took it.

“As soon as I knew of even the possibility of the opportunity to really get into coaching, especially underneath my dad for a couple of years, I jumped at it,” he said. “I felt that I was drawn to it.

“I had to do it. It wasn't even really a choice for me. It was just a matter of, 'When can I get my stuff packed up and when am I leaving?'”

Cotton now serves as an offensive graduate assistant with the University of Pittsburgh, and has the goal of becoming a full-time assistant at the Division I or Division II level.

His duties in Pittsburgh — most immediately, preparing for the Panthers' game against Syracuse on Saturday — will keep him from attending the ceremony in Ames on Thursday, but the other four hall of fame honorees will be present.

Hamilton, a member of the Ames class of 2007, lettered in volleyball, basketball and soccer for the Little Cyclones.

She captained the 2006 volleyball team that finished 34-6, earning all-state special mention. During her career, she helped Ames reach the state tournament three times.

She was even more impressive on the basketball court, however. By the time Hamilton graduated, she was first in Ames history in 3-point field goals, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage, as well as third all-time in points scored.

After high school, she excelled for Simpson College, and during the 2008-09 season, she led NCAA Division III in 3-point field goal percentage.

Thorgaard, also in the class of 2007, will be inducted as a versatile and accomplished runner. During her freshman season, she placed fifth at the state cross-country meet, and then excelled in track that spring, setting school and conference records in the long jump, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes.

By the time she graduated, Thorgaard had qualified for the state track meet in 16 events and won two state championships, in addition to six school records.

She went on to compete for Iowa State in both track and cross-country. She now lives in San Diego.

Bishop, a 1986 grad, made his mark as a diver. He scored points at the state meet in each of his four years, and was not defeated once during his junior and senior years, winning two consecutive Iowa state dive championships.

He went on to dive at Grinnell College, where he still holds the pool record for a six-dive competition. He accumulated five NCAA Division III All-American accolades.

Now, he works as a field archeologist living in Minneapolis, Tulsa and Houston.

Sucher, from the class of 1957, won a state championship as the starting left tackle on the 1956 football team.

He twice was named first-team all-conference, and during his two years as starter, Ames went 14-2.

He played collegiately at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and now lives in Red Wing, Minn.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.